I’ve always loved horses.  I was one of those horse-mad kids.  Every shooting star…every wishing well.  If I wasn’t wishing for a unicorn, it was my own horse.  When I was 12, my dream came true with Honey, a registered Quarter Horse Appaloosa.  All my riding experience up till then had been English jumping, but Honey was a western trail horse through and through and she and I retrained ourselves and spent many years together pole bending and barrel riding.  But there is nothing more polished looking than an English Hunt jacket.  And when this lovely charcoal wool one came to me, I had to do a yarn couching fox project on it.  With the help of friends, I was able to take some lovely pictures with some magnificent horses.

The jacket features some 3D work for the first time.  Tufted ‘teddy bear yarn’ with hand applied grey streaks make the fluffy breast of this curious red fox absolutely touchable.  The braided twist tassel looped over the antique hunting horn also is free on the coat.  Many yarns were used including commercial acrylic, hand dyed wool fingering, and mulberry silks.  The fox eye is a Fimo art clay, hand paint, and resin sculpture, applied under the cut away and embroidered eye socket.

Exhibited by invitation at the New England Quilt Museum exhibit “Animalia”, September 2023.